


Worlds Divided

by MissGamerGeek



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Girl Meets World
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Related, Crossover, Drama, Emotional Roller Coaster, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, LGBTQ Themes, Past Abuse, Slave Trade, Slavery, Tags Contain Spoilers, Time Travel, possible trigger warnings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 05:56:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13207416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissGamerGeek/pseuds/MissGamerGeek
Summary: The day Maya was destined to climb through the bay window went wrong somehow. The blonde never arrived to meet the girl who would become her best friend, but someone else did climb through the window that day. A tall, young looking man with a bow tie who would take Riley on many adventures. Something always felt like it was missing. Will Riley be able to figure out whats missing from her world when she never met the one who was meant to give it meaning?or ...The Girl Meets World / Doctor Who crossover I'm pretty sure no one ever asked for.





	1. The Doctor

Sunshine burst through the open bay window. A small brunette girl, no more than six, sat on the window bench. An enchanting melody played through her lips as she sat there singing to herself. This was a frequent activity for the child. She found herself lonely and would often sit there for hours at a time wishing for a friend. Today she was destined to meet a friend that would change her life forever. She didn't notice the blue box materializing on the balcony outside or the tall bow tied man stepping out into the light.

“Hello,” the man exclaimed with much enthusiasm. “Can you tell me where I am?” He had stuck his head through the open window. He looked young, appearing in his early twenties. His hair was combed nicely, and he dawned a deep red bow tie at his neck. This was a face you knew you could trust and a smile that could heal worlds.

“Are you a stranger?” asked the little girl as she just noticed the huge Police Box on her balcony.

The man smiled widely, “I'm the Doctor.”

The girl calmly asked, “Are you a stranger coming through my window?”

His voice sounded less confident as he responded, “Well yes.”

The child let out a very loud, ear piercing scream.

Suddenly a man’s voice, her father’s, called out through the baby monitor on her end table, “Everything okay up there?”

“There's a man in a bow tie named the Doctor,” she called out to her father who resided downstairs, “and he came here through a magical blue police box, and it's sitting on my balcony right now!”

“Never lose your imagination, Riley,” he laughed to himself. “Keep having fun.”

The Doctor climbed the rest of the way through the window until he was completely inside the room, “Now where did you say we are? The TARDIS was pulled here for some reason. I was on my way to ancient Mesopotamia.” He pulled a buzzing contraption from his pocked and began waving it around the room.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah! This here is my sonic screwdriver,” he explained with much glee, “I'm scanning the room for any sort of alien technology.” He then scanned the girl up and down as she gaped at him.

“Alien?” Riley didn't think she had heard that correctly, “You're an alien?”

“I am from the planet Gallifrey,” he happily explained to the child. “Earth is basically my home now though.” The Doctor continued walking around the room as he talked. He paid close attention to a jewelry box but sat it down once he ruled it to not be a threat.

“If you're an alien why do you sound British?”

“Other planets have accents too,” he countered. “Not to mention all my best friends are British.”

“What's that blue box?”

“You do ask a lot of questions,” he laughed. “Never, ever lose that. Questioning minds are always learning. That is my TARDIS. It stands for time and relative dimension in space. I can travel any where or any time I want to go in that box.”

Riley's eyes grew wide, “It's a time machine?”

“It's a time machine,” the Doctor grinned, confirming the girl’s question. “One that seems to be malfunctioning!” He crawled back out through the window and opened the door to the TARDIS.

Riley closely followed behind, carefully observing everything happening. Once she took a step inside the box she was shocked to discover just how large it was, “It's bigger on the inside!”

“Hadn't noticed,” he joked. The Doctor pulled his screwdriver out of his pocked again and began to scan the controls. “Why did you bring me here?”

“I didn't bring you here,” Riley answered, not aware the Doctor hadn't been directing his question to her.

“Or did you?” He turned his direction to the small child, “What were you doing just before I arrived?”

“I was singing and wishing for a friend,” she said, her voice tiny and embarrassed.

The Doctor worked through the information, his deep thoughts reflected across his young face, “Ah! Yes! And the TARDIS heard you singing and brought me to you. This isn't the first time it's done this. Of course last time it did there was a rip in the fabric of time and space,” her eyes grew wide at his comment, “but I'm sure that couldn't be the case again. Well, young Riley, your friend has arrived.”


	2. Geronimo

The Doctor came back many times to visit Riley. Each time he would bring her back some sort of treasure from his travels, but he had yet to allow her a trip in the TARDIS. Having lost so many other companions he didn’t want to chance such a young soul on such dangerous missions. On her sixteenth birthday she succeeded in persuading him to take her on her first adventure.

“Please, one trip!” Riley begged the Doctor the second he stepped foot out of the TARDIS.

“It’s too dangerous,” he argued. “I cannot lose you too. I’ve already lost … “ He lost his train of thought reflecting back on his two most recent companions who were stolen away the Weeping Angels only months ago by his timeline. To Riley this happened almost over a decade ago, but for the Doctor it was still a very recent wound. “I’m not risking you too. Nope, we will stay here, safe and sound. No Daleks, no Cybermen, no Angels, just peace and quiet with my best friend.”

Riley pouted, “Isn’t there _anywhere_ we could go that isn’t dangerous? What about the Arctic? We can see the penguins for my birthday! Or take me to see London! You love London.”

“Oh no, London is one of the _most_ dangerous places,” he explained. “Do you have any idea just how many aliens there are in London? Countless!”

“Please,” she insisted. “You’ve been coming here for years, and I’ve never got to go _anywhere._ So many wonderful stories, and I’ve never had an adventure outside of my bedroom. Not that I don’t love your visits.”

“Twist my arm why don’t you,” the Doctor stood up and took Riley’s hand. “One trip. Just one!” He opened the TARDIS door and ran directly to the control panel. “Where to Miss Matthews?”

“Seriously? We’re actually going somewhere?” Riley was thrilled. She didn’t expect him to cave, since he had been so persistent for years.

“Yes, quickly before I change my mind. Where are we off to? Penguins? Ancient Rome? Shakespeare. I haven’t seen in him years. Oh, I’ve got it!” He pulled down on a series of levers and the TARDIS came to life, “Geronimo!”

Riley braced herself as she felt them spinning through the space time continuum towards the unknown destination. “Where are we going?” she yelled to him from across the center console.

“Where is the one place you’ve always wanted to go?” the Doctor asked with a wide smile.

“J.K. Rowling’s house?” she guessed with a laugh.

“Think farther,” he said as he pushed the level into the stop position. The Doctor ran to Riley and grabbed her hand, leading her to the TARDIS door. “May I present to you, Pluto.”

“We’re on Pluto?” Riley was in awe as she stared out onto the unknown planet, a slight laugh escaped her lips. She took in the sight of the low craters and tall mountains, untouched by human hands. “This is Pluto?”

“Have I ever lied to you? Don’t answer that. Rule number one the Doctor lies, but I swear this is Pluto,” he carried on in a rambling sort of way, his words nearly on top of each other. “I should add that I do promise I have never lied to you. Nor do I ever plan to.”

The Doctor’s words were lost on Riley, who was simply basking in the moment. She turned to him, a huge smile on her face, and threw her arms around him. Riley hugged him tightly, overwhelmed with emotion. “Thank you. This is the best birthday present ever.”

Riley has always dreamt of going to Pluto, the smallest planet with the biggest heart she often called it. She always had hope for something billions of miles away from her. And now with the Doctor and his TARDIS, a billion miles didn't seem to far off any longer.

 

The spontaneous trip to Pluto was not the last trip she would take in the TARDIS despite what the Doctor had said. Instead they would take a trip every time the Doctor visited. Riley saw more than she even knew to be possible. The Doctor only traveled in space, never in time, when he was with Riley. And never out of her native solar system. He was careful to avoid any places he didn’t know to be completely safe out of fear of losing another of his friends. Two years from their first trip that would change.

“I’m an adult now, enough with the kid stuff,” Riley said adamantly. “Take me somewhere exciting. What about your home planet?”

“I am over one thousand years old. Turning 18 hardly makes you an adult,” he countered. “And what do you mean kids stuff? Most humans would be thrilled to have seen the things you have.”

“Please, Doctor,” Riley begged. “Show me the future. Show me New Earth? Anything. I’m old enough to be a real companion now. Please.”

He ran his hands through his hair, tugging on it in frustration. “Riley, something could happen! I told you what happened the last time.”

She collapsed on her bed, feeling defeated, “Something out there is calling to me. I don’t know what. I don’t know where. But there is something out there I’m supposed to find. I can’t explain it more than that.”

He laid down next to her, staring up at the ceiling, “You make a convincing argument.”

Riley glanced over at him, “Don’t you ever get the feeling like the world is wrong somehow? And it's up to you to fix it?”

“More times than I can count,” the Doctor admitted, his eyes still fixed on the white ceiling above. “Why do you think the world is wrong? You are here, healthy, and you have the best friend in the entire galaxy.”

“Aren’t you modest?” she laughed at his last comment. “I don’t know. Maybe it's because my best friend is a man in a magical blue box, and if I try to tell anyone that at my age they will lock me up in a psychiatric ward somewhere. Something is just … “ she took a deep breath, trying to think of the right word, “missing.”

“Alright.”

“Alright?” her attention was perked and she turned on her side, a giant smile across her face.

“Let’s go on a real adventure and see what we can find. Shall we?”

“Yes!” Riley lept from the bed and ran to the TARDIS, pulling the door open and jumping across its threshold.

“Shall we let the old girl surprise us with our destination?” he asked, referring to the TARDIS.

The smile across her face could not be contained. Riley nodded feverishly, “Sounds like a plan!”

“Do you want to do the honors?” he asked as he began to push buttons and pull on levers. “Here we go!”

Riley grabbed hold and yelled out “Geronimo!” as she braced herself for the start of the most important adventure of her life.


	3. New New York

“Oh not here again,” the Doctor huffed as he stepped out of the TARDIS. “Of all the places of New New York we end up in the Undercity.”

“We’re still in New York?” Riley questioned.

He locked the TARDIS door behind them as they made their way out onto the busy street. “Not New York. New New York of New Earth in the year 5,000,000,103.”

She bounced happily, turning in circles as she went. “I’m on a new planet. In the future. And those are all aliens!”

“Shh, keep it down,” he urged. “But yes, those are aliens. I just don’t understand why the TARDIS would have brought us to the Undercity. The last time I was here there were giant monsters under the motorway living off the smog. Shouldn’t be a problem this time though, just stay close to me and don’t accept any mood altering patches.”

The two made their way past various shops and stalls, all run down and in disrepair. Countless children ran up to them begging for spare credits. One small boy tried to pickpocket the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver. He didn’t even manage to remove his hand from the Doctor’s pocket before he was caught. The Doctor wasn’t offended, in contrast he bought the boy an apple for his troubles.

“Poorest of the poor down here,” he explained as the boy ran away with the first fresh fruit he’d had in months. “It’s a real shame. So much wealth in New New York, and apparently they still haven’t learned to care for the least of them.”

Riley turned to him, “Is there anything we can do?”

“I don’t know. There is someone I can ask, but I haven’t seen her in years. Not since the Face of Boe’s death. I assume she’s still around somewhere, but she won’t recognize me at all,” the Doctor spoke while drifting off into distant memories.

“Why wouldn’t she recognize you?”

“New face,” he smiled. “Time Lords regenerate. I was an entirely different person the last time I was here.”

“Hey watch it,” Riley yelled as wave of black rushed passed her, bumping into her shoulder forcefully.

The figure turned around to reveal a short girl, a human girl, glaring back at them. Riley could feel the girl’s icy blue eyes piercing through her from beneath her hooded jacket. The girl didn’t say anything. She simply looked at them with immense confusion, as if she was trying to remember a dream. After a quick second she returned to her original course and took off at a run.

“Polite ones here,” Riley muttered sarcastically while turning towards the Doctor.

“Chances are if someone is unlucky enough to be stuck in the Undercity they have had a harsh life. I wouldn’t judge people so quickly,” he said, clearly feeling sorry for the girl.

“I hope her life hasn’t been all bad,” Riley added, suddenly feeling wracked with guilt. “What were you talking about before?”

“Right,” he exclaimed. “We need to find a way to access the upper levels. The motorway should be working correctly by now.”

The Doctor and Riley made their way through the various levels of New New York, each one more extravagant than the last. Eventually they came to the tallest tower on the highest level. The Doctor led her down a long highway that connected to an enormous room. The space was empty besides a single chair facing away from them.

“Who is there?” the figure called out to them. It was the voice of an elderly woman. Her voice was worn thin, signifying she had lived a long and full life.

“Hello, old friend,” he called over kindly, a somber smile across his face.

The Doctor walked around to face the woman they sought, his companion close behind. Riley was surprised to see the woman before her wasn't a woman at all, at least not one resembling a human. The creature before her was humanoid and catlike, complete with thick fur and whiskers covering her elderly face. She donned deep purple robes which matched the cap resting upon her head. Riley was reminded of Hermione in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when she drank polyjuice with cat fur instead of human hair.

“It’s me, Hame,” the Doctor said with a smile, “the Doctor. Different face, same Doctor.”

She stared at him a moment, her cat eyes squinting ever so slightly, before breaking into a smile and standing to embrace her old friend. “It’s been too long.”

“You are looking good for one hundred and two,” he said flirtatiously.

“Oh you flatter me, Doctor,” Hame blushed, her whiskers curling slightly.

“She’s a cat,” Riley said outright. “And she’s wearing purple. You brought me to meet a purple cat.”

“Excuse me,” Hame said, “but even for an old lady I can still hear better than your average human. I am not a _cat_. I am Catkind. And as for my clothing, purple happens to be a very flattering color for my fur.”

“My apologies, Ma’am,” Riley apologized sincerely. “I’m still getting used to traveling with the Doctor. The universe is so much bigger than I could have expected.”

“Well no need to be rude, child,” Hame replied, appealing to have only somewhat forgiven Riley’s misstep.

“Hame,” the Doctor drew her attention back to the matter at hand, “What happened since I’ve been gone? I thought everyone moved out of the Undercity once we opened the Motorway, but it's busier than any other level we passed on our way up here.”

“When you left everyone rushed to the upper levels, claiming property,” Hame explained as she walked across the empty room to stare out of the windows to the city below. “Unfortunately everyone who was left after Bliss took out most of our population seemed too overwhelmed to get the city running again so they brought in slaves to do the work.”

The Doctor shook his head in disapproval at hearing the people he once saved adopted a slavery practice once he left.

Hame continued her tale, “Most everyone living in the Undercity is someone else’s property. They are all marked by their owner’s and travel to that person’s residence every day before returning to the Undercity at night. I hear most of them sleep in the alleys since they aren’t given any sort of currency to pay for a bed anywhere. The lucky ones are at least supplied with food.”

Riley was outraged, “That’s horrible! That girl who ran into me, she was one wasn’t she?”

The Doctor hung his head, “Most likely.”

“Was she young?” Hame asked.

“She looked my age,” Riley answered her somberly.

“It would make sense. From my understanding they like to break them young,” Hame explained, triggering the Doctor’s rage.

“How was an entire city all of a sudden okay with bringing back such an ancient practice? And with children?” He screamed as he kicked a nearby waste basket in his frustration, causing it to fly across the room. “Hame, why did no one stop them?”

“The Face of Boe was gone. You had left. There was no one else,” Hame said sadly. “Even back then I was not as young as I once was. I tried to talk to those who rose to power, but they didn’t want to hear from an old nun. I did try, Doctor.”

“Right,” he calmed his demeanor suddenly, “we must fix this. I will not let this sort of crime against morality stand, especially as a result of something I did. Come on, Riley. There’s work to be done.”


	4. Save Me

Riley walked through the row of stalls in the Undercity as she waited for the Doctor to finish conversing with the slavers. It was too emotional for her to even think about, let alone be witness to, people who would kidnap and sell others. They may not be humans, but they were still living, breathing creatures who deserved better.

She noticed the girl from earlier, the same one who bumped into her that morning on the way to visit Hame, sitting against a brick wall. Riley felt awful for judging the girl despite not knowing her story, and now there was time to fix that while she waited for the Doctor.

“Hi, do you remember me?” she asked as she approached cautiously.

The girl looked up from beneath her hood, “Girl who was in my way earlier. Ya I remember.”

Riley fought the urge be offended and tried to further open the lines of communication. “That looks nice,” she observed, noticing the scraps of paper the girl had in her hands.

Clearly the stranger was taken back by this, “Thanks.” It was obvious by her tone the girl was not used to compliments, or any sort of positive reinforcement of any kind.  Such a simple sentiment was completely foreign to her.

“Don't mention it,” Riley grinned, happy to be making some progress. “What is that you're drawing?” she asked, genuinely intrigued.

A sad smile crossed the girl’s face, “Home. At least what I can remember anyways.”

Riley squinted and looked closer, “Is that Christopher Park?” She couldn't believe this girl on an alien planet, millions of years in the future, was drawing a place she knew so well.

“You know it?” the girl asked, temporarily lowering her guard.

“I do,” Riley responded, shock and confusion dripping from her voice. “How do _you_ know it?”

“I went there all the time until I was six,” she said reminiscing of a time long past, “until… well, it doesn't matter now.”

“You're from New York,” Riley said outright. It wasn't a question but a revelation. The girl in front of her somehow didn't belong in this time anymore than she did.

The girl looked up for a brief moment, her demeanor hardening once more, “This is New York. The only one that matters anyway.”

“No,” Riley pleaded with her to listen, “I'm from New York too. The _original_ New York. I came here with the Doctor.”

“Are you stuck here too then?” she asked, not looking up from her drawing.

Riley shook her head, not that the girl noticed, “He's going to take me back home.”

Suddenly the Doctor burst through the doors to the arena he had been meeting in. “Riley, run!” he called as he sprinted towards the TARDIS.

“What happened?” Riley called after him.

He paused momentarily to explain, “I told them I'm the last surviving member of the Council of Elrond. As long as I'm alive no additional slaves can be bought or sold.”

“Isn’t that from The Lord of the Rings?” she asked him, her brow furrowing.

“Well yes,” the Doctor confirmed, “but they don’t know that.”

“So what's the problem?” Riley asked as a smile spread across her face. She still didn't see the need to start running.

“As long as _I am alive_ . The slavers _may_ want to kill me now,” the Doctor clarified as a mob erupted through the doors he just came through. “Quick, get to the TARDIS!” He took off running again, key in hand.

The girl Riley had been speaking to listened carefully to every word had been exchanged. No more buying or selling, but nothing for those already stuck in the life. Not to mention the entire plan only held together as long as none of the slavers decided to take an interest in classic Earth literature. She leapt from her seat on the ground and called to Riley, pleading, “Wait. Please, take me with you. I don't belong here. Please, save me from this.”

Riley took only a second, glancing towards the Doctor before back at the helpless girl. Something inside her told her there was no choice to consider. There was no alternative, she had to save this girl. Logic and reason went out the window as Riley followed her gut. She nodded, a determined smile crossing her face, “Let’s go.”

The two girls took off after the Doctor, hoping to outrun the slavers behind them. Once they were safely in the TARDIS, the Doctor slammed the door and rushed to the controls. Once they were safely out of harm he turned to the girls, a mix of confusion and annoyance across his face.

“Now where did you come from?” he asked the newest arrival.

The girl removed her hood to reveal long, matted blonde hair that hadn’t seen a shower in some time. “I asked her if she could take me with you,” she turned to look at Riley. “I couldn’t be there anymore.”

“She’s from New York,” Riley explained. “But not New New York, _my_ New York.”

“How on New Earth did she get there then?” the Doctor asked curiously.

“I don’t know,” the girl explained desperately. “One day when I was a little I was on the street, and the next thing I remembered was waking up on a ship with seventeen other kids. Eventually I was sold to Haas. I'm not supposed to be here, I swear.”

“Slave traders,” he said through clenched teeth. “I’m sorry you went through that, but Riley,” he turned his attention to the suddenly nervous looking brunette, “you can’t just be inviting people on to my TARDIS.”

Riley looked at him helplessly as she took a few steps closer, “But I had to, I don’t know why. I don’t have a reason or explanation. Something in me just had to.”

He simply shook his head and looked over her shoulder, back to his newest passenger, “And what is your name?”

“I’m Maya,” she said timidly. “You can drop me off anywhere if I’m not welcome. I just couldn’t be there anymore.”

“Hello, Maya,” his voice suddenly softer as he walked around Riley to greet her properly, “and welcome to the TARDIS. You are welcome to stay here as long as you’d like. Sorry for my reaction earlier, but we can’t go about just letting anyone into the TARDIS. This is the most powerful time machine in all of existence.”

“This is a time machine? Can you fix my history?” she looked at him desperately.

A frown crossed his face, “Unfortunately I cannot, but let's see what we can do about your future.”

“Good enough for me,” she smiled up at him, a glimmer of hope shining her eyes for the very first time in her life.

“Hi,” Riley said from behind the Doctor. “We never formerly introduced ourselves, and since you’ll be traveling with us now I feel we should.”

Maya laughed, feeling tremendously lighter after escaping New New York. She extended her hand, “You’re right. I’m Maya.”

Riley smiled back at her, moving to take the offered hand, “Hello, Maya. I’m Riley.”

The moment their hands connected their skin began to glow bright yellow, the same yellow as the the space-time element powering the TARDIS. The light grew brighter and wider until it exploded, sending a beam of energy through the ship.

“Wh-what was that?” Maya asked, clearly terrified at what had just happened. Riley could only shake her head in reply, her emotions mimicking their newest traveler.

The Doctor rushed back over as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver to begin scanning, “Oh, well this is very interesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will be slowing down slightly going forward as today was my last day of vacation.


	5. A Fixed Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been dealing with some mental health issues, and they prevented me from writing. I'm hoping to get back to regular updates now.

“Doctor,” Riley’s voice shook with uncertainty, “what… what was that?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” the Doctor continued scanning with his sonic screwdriver. He clicked it off, hit in his hand a few times, held it to his ear, flipped it back on, and proceeded to scan further. “This is very strange. Very strange indeed.”

“Should we continue holding hands?” Riley turned to the Doctor as he continued scanning the point the energy had come from.

He looked up, confusion across his face, “What?” A second later he snapped out of it, “Oh. Yes, yes of course. You can let go.” The Doctor examined his screwdriver closely before holding it up to his ear to listen to its buzzing. 

“Is this normal?” Maya asked Riley as the Doctor continued working through the situation in his head. 

“This is normal for him, but I've never seen anything like  _that_ ,” she answered. “Have you?”

Maya shook her head in response.

The Doctor had moved to the TARDIS main console to begin entering various data points he extracted from the screwdriver’s scans. His eyes grew large as the results began to reveal themselves on the screen, “It's time energy. Pure time energy! How could you possibly manage to create raw time energy? This is the same energy at the heart of the TARDIS.”

Riley ran over to him, “How is that possible?”

“It shouldn't be. You're human.”

“As far as I know,” she laughed. Riley glanced at Maya, “Pretty sure she is too. Remember, I told you she's from New York just like me?”

“You did,” he acknowledged. “And when was it you were taken again, Maya?”

“I… I don't really know. I was so young when it happened,” she replied, her voice full of the guilt she felt for not being of more help. “I think I was five or six?”

“That's about how old I was when I met you, Doctor,” Riley recalled. 

An idea visibly flashed across the Doctor’s eyes. He turned his attention back to the console and stared into the monitor, searching for answers. 

“I've got it!” The Doctor’s eyes lit up as the explanation he searched for became obvious. “Oh! Of course, yes!”

“Doctor?” Riley asked tentatively. 

 He turned one of the monitors to face the girls. “See this time line?” he asked, looking back and forth between the two girls. After Riley and Maya each replied with a nod, the Doctor continued, “This is your timeline, Riley. According to the TARDIS database, right here,” he used his finger to point to a spot in the early 2000s, “is a fixed point in history. Meaning, it cannot be changed or rather it  _shouldn’t_  be changed. You two were destined to meet at this moment, but that never happened. In every version of reality you two met at this point, in every parallel world. Because this moment never happened a temporal rift occurred, explaining the energy explosion when you touched.”

“We were supposed to be friends?” Riley looked to Maya as she asked the question.

“You two were supposed to be  _best_  friends. Time-altering best friends apparently for this to be a fixed point,” he turned back to the board, his hand on his chin. “That’s the day I met you, Riley. The TARDIS wasn’t responding to your singing. It was being called to the rift! Of course! It all makes sense!”

“None of this makes sense,” Maya admitted. “I don’t understand how I could cause a rift in time just by not being somewhere. I’m not important. I’m a nobody!” She dropped to the floor in frustration, taking a seat on the closest step. 

The Doctor moved quickly to kneel in front of Maya, taking her hands in his own. “In over twelve hundred years I never met anyone who wasn’t important. You are not a nobody, Maya. Clearly you were meant to be an awfully important somebody to someone,” he glanced over to Riley who couldn’t help but blush at the comment. 

Maya looked to Riley and gave a sad smile, “Maybe in another lifetime.”

“Can the rift be repaired?” Riley asked, her voice dripping with sadness for Maya.

“I can't leave a hole in the fabric of time, Riley,” the Doctor explained. “I'm not sure how yet, but yes somehow we'll fix this.”

“We will?” she asked in response while Maya simply sat in stunned silence. 

“Yes. Somehow, we have to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr for updates.   
> Main Tumblr: MissGamerGeek  
> Fic Updates Tumblr: mgg-fics


	6. What Could Have Been

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for taking so long to update this story. I've been working on this for Nano so I'm hoping I can give you weekly updates going forward until its finished.

The Doctor continued telling them about time rifts for a long while. The words he spoke were technical, and Riley did her best to follow along with what he was explaining. Maya couldn’t bring herself to focus; her mind was swimming with the new revelations she had learned. It was all so overwhelming to the blonde, whose world had just turned on its head.

“Would anyone mind if I took some time to think?” she asked. “This is all too much.”

“Of course,” the Doctor answered, rising to his feet. “Riley, can you take Maya to get cleaned up and show her to one of the guest rooms?”

Riley nodded, taking Maya’s hand in her own as she led her down the hallway to the living quarters.

Maya glanced down at their entwined hands, overwhelmed as her mind raced back to what happened the last time their skin had touched. Everything had changed for her in such a short period of time. She shook her head back to the present as Riley led her down a long hallway. “How big is this place?” Maya couldn't believe how large the ship was while still being able to park in the middle of the Undercity. She didn't notice the what the outside had looked like as she ran from the slavers.

“Huge,” Riley responded. “I'm still finding new sections, and I've known the Doctor for twelve years.”

Maya’s head fell, “You were supposed to have known me for twelve years.”

A sad, sympathetic smile crossed Riley’s lips, “Apparently. That's what the Doctor says anyways.”

“You trust him?” the shorter girl asked.

“With my life,” Riley said as she slid open one of the doors.

“Woah,” Maya was taken aback at what she saw inside the newly exposed space. Rows and rows of clothing spiraling up and around, virtually covering every wall of the very tall room with fabrics from different time periods and societies, different styles, colors, sizes from every possible place the TARDIS could travel.

“Pick out whatever you like,” Riley said gleefully, knowing the girl didn't own anything besides the lose fitting rags adoring her body, “then I'll show you where you can shower and get some rest.”

“Really? I can pick whatever I want?” Disbelief was in each word leaving the blonde's mouth. It had been far too many years since anyone had given anything besides abuse. This sort of care and generosity was not anything she was used to.

“Anything at all,” Riley smiled, pulling Maya completely into the room. “This section here is from the mid to late 2010s.”

Maya hesitantly began later looking through the countless clothes hanging in front of her. “Would this be okay?” she asked, pulling a leather jacked off its hanger.

“Of course! Now let's get you a t-shirt and jeans,” Riley enthusiastically began helping Maya find clothes to try on.

For the first time Maya felt like a teenager doing teenage things, such as shopping for clothes with a friend. She laughed and smiled and let a glimmer of her true self shine through.

The two of them pulled various tops and pants from their hangers, creating quite the pile on the floor next to them.

 “Can I try this on?” Maya asked, still hesitant. Riley responded with a nod and a wide grin. Maya shrugged off her cloak revealing a ragged crop top underneath, her shoulders completely exposed.

“What’s that?” Riley asked, noticing a mark on Maya’s right shoulder as she the dirty garment fell to the floor.

Maya glanced over her shoulder, her face somber as she realized what Riley was looking at, “Oh that. It’s kind of a branding I guess?”

The brunette’s eyes grew wide as she hesitantly reached to run her fingers over the exposed flesh. Once she received a nod from Maya, she allowed her fingertips to gently glide along the marking. It was smooth and reminded Riley of an earth tattoo, but there was something different about it. “What?”

“It changes depending who… on who _owns_ me.” Tears welled in Maya’s eyes. She quickly lifted her arm to wipe them away before the fell, not wanting Riley to see her cry. “Haas has control of it. He’s the only one who can remove it, or hand it off to someone else.” Maya closed her eyes tight, struggling to maintain composure, “The symbol is _his_ symbol.”

“That’s awful!” Riley didn’t know what to do. She wanted to comfort the girl, but was at a loss. Slowly she extended her hand until it rested against Maya’s shoulder in hopes to give the blonde some form of aid. Instead the touch inspired a flinch as Maya took a step away.

“Sorry. I’m just not used to,” she paused, collecting her thoughts. “Physical touch hasn’t been a positive thing in a long time. Sorry. I’ll work on it.”

Riley pulled back her hand, inwardly kicking herself for triggering whatever memory she had caused the shorter girl to relive. She didn’t pry, knowing if Maya wanted to share she would. “Take all the time you need, okay?”

The blonde turned, gave a weak smile, and nodded. “Thanks. Do you think I could get cleaned up? I think these will work,” she picked up a set of clothing from the selection they had accumulated.

“Yeah of course, follow me,” answered as she led her from the room.

 

Once showered, Maya walked back into the bedroom Riley had pointed out to her earlier to find the brunette waiting.

Maya nervously asked, “How do I look?” She was wearing a pair of stylishly ripped jeans, a cobalt blue shirt, the leather jacket, and boots.

“Wow,” Riley smiled at the sight of her. “You look beau- great,” quickly correcting her misstep. “You look great, Maya.”

“Thanks,” the blonde blushed in response. “I forgot what real clothes felt like.” She turned to look in the mirror. “Is it okay to feel this? To feel happy and safe? I've been scared for so long.”

Riley walked up behind her, “Today is the start of your brand new life, Maya. I promise you'll never have to live like that again.”

“Don't make promises you can't keep,” she said, her voice emotionless, as she walked over to the bed. “So, we were supposed to be best friends,” Maya thought aloud, still trying to take in all of the information she had received earlier.

Riley sat down on the bed besides her, taking the blonde’s hand in her own. “Yeah, apparently,” she attempted to sound comforting, but Riley was in just as much shock at the new development. “You were supposed to crawl through my window instead of the Doctor.”

“I was supposed to have a normal life,” tears started to fall freely down Maya’s face; the blonde had given up on stopping them. “None of this was supposed to happen. I wasn’t meant to be this.”

“Can I?” Riley asked, her arms outstretched.

Maya nodded through her cries, and Riley pulled her into an embrace, attempting to sooth her new friend. She was at a loss at what to do. On one hand she only just met the girl in her arms, but now she knew that in another life this person was apparently everything to her.

Once she calmed after what felt like an eternity to her, Maya turned to Riley and asked, “Would it be okay if I slept?”

“Do you need me to get you pajamas? Anything?”

Maya shook her head, sniffling back a few unshed tears, “I just would like to lay down for a while. I haven't seen a real bed since I was… since before I was taken.”

Riley nodded sadly, unable to not feel for the girl in front of her, “Okay. I'll be in the control room with the Doctor if you need anything.” She stood from her seat on the bed and began to walk towards the door.

“Thanks, Riley. For everything,” Maya called after Riley, causing the taller girl to stop and face her again. “You saved me. I don't think I can repay that, but I'll try.”

The brunette turned to leave, but stopped before crossing the threshold. “Hey, Maya,” she said, her hand resting on the door frame.

Maya looked up from where she sat on the bed. “Yeah?”

Riley turned around, a smile ghosting her lips, “I'm really glad you ran into me this morning.”

The blonde laughed slightly, “Sorry about that.”

“No, don't be,” Riley insisted, “I mean it. I'm happy you're here. Maybe destiny is trying to give us a second chance.”

“Maybe. That'd be nice,” she meant it. Maya wanted a second chance, but she had learned a long time ago not to hope for things. Since she had been a small child she had told herself hope was for suckers, and that was before she had been kidnapped. The mantra rang even truer now after everything she had gone through.

“Yeah. Goodnight,” Riley excused herself and made her way back to control room. She had to believe the Doctor would find a way to make things right.


	7. Repairing the Rift

Riley made her way back to the control room where the Doctor was waiting. She wordlessly approached him, watching the monitor he was currently examining.

“How is our newest guest?”

She shrugged in response, “As good as can be expected I guess. She wanted to lay down for a while.” Riley paused, taking a deep breath before continuing her thought, “I think this is all a lot for her to take in.”

“Understandable,” he turned the monitor aside and faced Riley. “And how are _you_ handling things?”

Riley huffed, “I don’t even know where to begin. My entire life should have been different. I shouldn’t even _know_ you.” She took a few steps away and sat down on one of the stars leading into the center of the room, “I should be a completely different person. How am I supposed to feel right now?”

“You are supposed to feel however you feel, Riley,” he explained as he took a seat next to her. “No one, not even I, can tell you how you should be feeling.”

“It’s a lot,” she added. The pair sat in silence for several minutes before Riley spoke again, “So what do we do?”

“We will need to close the rift,” the Doctor answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe. “Time has been cracked, _again_. Somehow we will need to repair it, to reset it. Luckily this seems like an isolated crack. The TARDIS was called to your room, Riley. That's where the rift must have occurred.”

“And how do we do that exactly?”

“The rift was caused because Maya never crawled through your window. We need to get her to where she was supposed to be so the rift closes,” he explained. “It will be as if time never cracked at all.”

“So we just need to get Maya to my room?”

The Doctor stood up from his seat and returned to viewing the monitor, once again turning it back into focus, “We need to get _young_ Maya to your room. It will be tricky.”

He abandoned the monitor again and began to think. Riley could see the wheels turning in his mind. After so many years she could read his expressions well, and she knew better than to interrupt at a time like this. The issues he was trying to work through in his mind were far to important to risk distraction.

“We can’t go back to the day Maya was taken,” the Doctor said as he paced back and forth across the TARDIS. “That would interfere with my personal time line, creating a paradox. What we need is to track down the people who kidnapped her in the first place. That would fix the rift, and history would be able to carry out like it was intended to!”

“But won’t fixing the rift create a paradox? Having Maya go through the bay window means you don’t, and if you don’t we never save her,” Riley explained, causing her own head to spin as the thought developed.

“Usually yes,” he with immense excitement, “but any paradox created because of the rift will be absorbed. That paradox will fill the rift, causing it to close and time to be reset.”

Riley squinted her eyes in confusion, “So if we create a paradox by going back and interfering with your timeline that would be bad? But if we create a paradox by fixing the rift without interfering with your timeline directly it will be okay?”

“Yes! Exactly,” he exclaimed as if it were obvious. “Me crossing paths with myself would be far too dangerous, but a minor paradox will be absorbed. We need to prevent the event from ever occurring, eliminating me being called there all together.”

She shrugged and let out a slight laugh, “If you say so, Doctor. You’re the expert here.”

 

Hours later Riley made her way back to the sleeping quarters to check on their new guest. When she arrived the blonde was sound asleep on top of her bed, not evening bothering to crawl under the covers. Sighing, Riley leaned against the door frame as a sad smile ghosted her lips.

Silently the Doctor appeared at her side, startling her when he spoke. “Is this a practice you do regularly? Watching people sleep? After a decade you'd think I'd pick up on these things,” he observed in jest.

“No,” she laughed. “I just feel better now that she's here. Complete somehow. It's hard to look away. Like if I do I'll lose her again.”

“If I didn't know better I'd say you were crushing on her,” he gave Riley a knowing glance. “You haven't been this gooey eyed since that cowboy moved to town.”

“That was different. He was way too cool for me to even talk to, and she is right here,” Riley smiled sadly before groaning in frustration. “I have no idea what to do.”

“Kiss her,” he teased, bumping their shoulders together.

The comment caused the brunette to blush bright link as a giggle escaped. “She does have beautiful lips,” Riley admitted her thoughts aloud.

“Well, this just got awkward.” The Doctor took a moment to laugh before urging, “So go for it.”

“Won't that mess things up? We don't know how things were supposed to go. It could be different once we close the rift.”

“Things will adapt, Riley. Time isn't some straight line of events, it's far more complicated than that. Time is fluid, and apparently so are you,” he winked at her before turning to head back to the control room.

“Doctor,” she called after him quietly, careful not to wake Maya. “Thank you.”

He gave her a wide grin, “You knew there was something out here calling to you. Thank you for making me listen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Twitter @MissGamerGeek
> 
> I've also made a Discord server where I will be sharing updates and accepting writing prompts. https://discord.gg/nX8McEu


	8. Mistakes Happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late. We had a death in the family, and then Christmas happened. I had trouble finding the time to sit down at the computer and edit this before posting. 
> 
> This chapter was a little challenging to write since I wanted to tie in some real history. I hope you guys like it.
> 
> ** I didn’t realize I was updating this on its one year anniversary when I posted the new chapter last night (early this morning). Happy Anniversary to this story, and here’s to it not taking me another year to write the next eight chapters.

“Do you remember who originally took you?”

Maya shook her head, “No. I never saw them. I woke up on that ship, and the next thing I knew the group of us were being pulled off by Haas and his men. It’s been so long that it’s all a little fuzzy. I remember some things like they happened yesterday, and then there are things I can’t remember at all. Sorry.” The group stood around the main console of the TARDIS. The Doctor had been asking Maya various questions to try to narrow down scope of their mission. Currently the trio was lacking direction on where to begin. Maya’s memory of her capture was lacking key information the Doctor needed to get things underway.

He gave her a sad smile, “That’s how trauma works, Maya. Some things are clear, like how you remember how many other kids were on that ship. While others are a blur. There is _nothing_ you need to be sorry for. Understand?”

The blonde nodded in reply. Riley reached over to offer her hand as support, which Maya took instinctively and squeezed in a silent thank you.

“Good,” the Doctor continued. “We will need to figure out exactly _who_ took you and _how_. Not many other beings in the universe have time travel technology, and for them to have taken you from 2008 to 5,000,000,103 some sort of time travel had to have been used.”

He turned to the controls and began fiddling with various knobs and levers.

Riley took a step towards him to get a better view of what he was doing, never releasing her hold on Maya’s hand. “Doctor, what are you doing?”

“I'm running some calculations to see if we figure out our next step,” he grabbed the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and pointed it towards the girls, scanning more data. He then plugged it into the control panel. “Unfortunately we don't have much to go on, and short of going back to the date Maya was taken and disrupting my personal timeline directly I don't know where to begin.”

“Sorry I'm so much trouble,” the blonde interjected solemnly.

“What? Maya, no,” Riley turned to her. “You aren't trouble.”

“Riley is right, Maya,” the Doctor agreed instantly. “You did not ask to be taken. The fault is on those who took you. Never be sorry. You are a victim, and I will do whatever I can to make things right.”

“We both will,” Riley added.

Maya nodded in response, unable to find her voice. For almost her entire life _everything_ had been her fault. No matter what went wrong the blame always fell to her, as well as the punishment.

The Doctor finished his work, and took a step back from the controls before turning to the girls, “Well, it seems we have some time while the TARDIS works through these calculations. How about an adventure? Where to?”

Riley beamed, “Why don't we let Maya decide?”

“A wonderful idea, Riley! Maya,” he turned to the shorter girl, “is there any place you've always wanted to see?” Maya only shook her head. “No place at all?”

“I never thought about it. I only ever wanted to get away from Haas.”

He gave her a sad smile, “Of course.”

“You can dream now, Maya,” Riley told her. “Anywhere you can imagine we can go.”

“There was this one place I remember from when I was really little. My dad took me once before things got bad,” the blonde recalled. “There were rides and all these food stands. It's one of the few happy memories I can remember.”

“Coney Island,” Riley exclaimed. “My dad takes me there every year on the last day of the season.”

“We don't have to go there,” Maya added, “but somewhere like that maybe? Somewhere fun?”

“I have an idea,” he ran off to the controls and the TARDIS sprung to life.

Riley pulled Maya along with her as she followed after the Doctor, “Are we going to New York?”

“No, but we are going to a fair,” he answered with a wide grin.

 

Maya followed Riley through the open TARDIS door. The Doctor emerged behind the girls, pulling the door shut behind him. “We should only stay an hour or so before getting back to the TARDIS to check on the calculations,” the Doctor explained, “but until then, let’s have some fun. Might I suggest the Ferris Wheel?”

The group found themselves in the middle of St. Louis, Missouri in the year 1904. The World's Fair was in progress, or as it was known at the time, The Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Maya could not believe her eyes. No matter what direction the blonde directed her focus she had a new site to behold. Men sported woolen suits; women wore layers of skirts. A child ran by in knickerbockers, an ice cream cone in his hand. Everywhere she looked were people dressed in their best attire. Most dawned the rather unusual hats, an attempt to protect their complexion from the midday sun.

The blonde turned around to ask the Doctor about their less than suitable attire when the question became lodged in her throat as she took in the site before her. The Doctor, standing in front of an old police call box. Confusion was apparent across her face as she tried to rationalize how the blue box before her was the ship they had just exited. “Wait,” she tried to gather her thoughts, “we came out of _that_?”

“Yeah, that's the TARDIS,” Riley answered. “Didn't you see it when we ran in?”

“I was a little preoccupied with running away from the angry slaver mob,” she retorted with a smirk.

“Fair,” Riley acknowledged.

“I don't understand though,” Maya continued, needing an explanation. She had seen so many unexplainable things since she had been kidnapped all those years prior, but the mysteries of the universe still managed to surprise her. “How is it so much bigger on the inside?”

“Is it?” The Doctor answered, looking over his shoulder at his TARDIS. “Hadn't noticed. Now about that Ferris Wheel, or would you girls rather visit the stands?”

“But -”

Riley laughed, “Come on, let's go.”

“Should we change?” Maya gestured to her clothing which looked completely out of place in the early 1900s.

The Doctor pondered for a moment, “No, we won’t be long. You’ll be alright.”

“He doesn’t make sense to me either most of the time,” Riley leaned in to whisper in the blonde’s ear, causing her to laugh.

The group made their way through the fair stalls, sampling all the various food offerings. “Mm, Riley, you _must_ try this,” the Doctor handed her a cup of fizzy brown liquid. He turned back to the vendor, “What is this called again?”

“Dr Pepper,” the southern gentleman answered.

“Dr Pepper. You hear that, the Doctor drinking a doctor,” he laughed.

Riley rolled her eyes and took a sip before passing the cup to Maya.

“It’s a little sweeter than I remember, but _wow_ ,” she exhaled, enjoying something she hadn’t had since since was a small child.

The man running the stall raised his eyebrow, “You been to Texas, girl?”

“No,” Maya responds, confusion in her voice.

“This is the first time we’ve brought the recipe nationally,” he counters. “How would you have had it?”

“Oh, Maya here is just confused, dear Sir. We were just in Texas three weeks ago. Weren’t we girls?”

Catching on, Riley nods, “Yes. We were just in Texas. We travel so much it’s hard to keep track.”

“Right, sorry,” the blonde blushed before discarding the cup in her hands. She turned away from the stall awkwardly, only making it a few paces before Riley took after her.

“Hey,” the brunette called after her. “You okay?”

“Sorry about that, I wasn’t thinking,” she muttered.

Riley was baffled, “That? Maya, we are walking around in the early 1900s in _jeans_. That guy isn’t going to care about a little slip up. Not to mention the Doctor took care of it. It’s really okay.”

The shorter girl looked visibly uncomfortable, “I’m not used to mistakes being no big deal, ya know? Any slip up… If I messed up I was punished.”

“Can I hug you?” Riley asked her hesitantly, her voice dripping with concern. Upon receiving a silent nod the brunette wrapped her arms around Maya, “You aren’t going to get in trouble for making mistakes, okay? I make mistakes all the time. Seriously, _all_ the time. It’s a real problem.” Her self deprecating humor produced a laugh from the smaller girl. “There’s that smile,” she observed pulling back. “I know it’s going to be a process for you, but I’m here every step of the way. You can make mistakes now. That’s what life is supposed to be about, making mistakes and learning from them.”

“Seems like for foreign concept to me,” Maya huffed.

Riley smirked,  “Well you _did_ grow up on an alien planet. I’m sure a lot of things are foreign concepts.” The girls simultaneously burst out laughing, healing through making light of such an awful circumstance.

“Everything okay over here?” the Doctor asked as he approached, a fresh cup of Dr Pepper in his hand.

“Yeah,” Maya mustered a small smile in response. “It is now, thanks to Riley.”

“Great,” he beamed. “Now, let’s go get some waffle cones. I’ve always wondered how those got their start.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if the tidbits I threw in about the 1904 World's Fair aren't accurate. I tried to do my research when writing this chapter. I do not claim to be in any way a history scholar.


End file.
